Handicap International condemns the latest air strike on a hospital in Syria

Emergency

Syria

A Handicap International-supported hospital in the governorate of Deraa was hit by an air strike on Sunday 31 July, killing and maiming several people, including staff members.

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archive image : destruction of the City of Kobani, North Syria | Philippe Houliat

“The international community must strongly condemn these air strikes,” says Jean-Pierre Delomier, head of Humanitarian Action at Handicap International. “Parties to conflicts must do everything possible to spare civilian lives. It is unacceptable for hospitals or health structures to be damaged or destroyed by attacks, causing heavy loss of life and depriving those worst affected by the conflict of essential care.”

Handicap International is once again calling for an immediate end to air strikes against civilians and respect for international humanitarian law.

Last week, a maternity hospital was hit during a bombing, in the governorate of Idlib in north-western Syria. A few days earlier, four hospitals and a blood donation facility in eastern Aleppo were partially destroyed by air strikes that killed dozens of people.

In September 2015, Handicap International launched an international campaign to end attacks on civilians. The organisation is calling on States to sign a political declaration to bring an end to the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and to recognise the suffering of civilians. To this end, the organisation has co-founded INEW (International Network On Explosive Weapons), a coalition of international and national organisations.

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